We offered the trust to the heavens, the earth & the mountains,

Quran 33:72 (Surah Al-Ahzab)

English Translation:
We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to carry it and were afraid of doing so; but man carried it. Surely he is wrong-doing, ignorant.

Tafseer (Commentary by Syed Abul Ala Maududi):
In the end, Allah wants man to realize his real position in the world; if in that position he regarded the life of the world as mere fun and sport and adopted a wrong attitude carelessly, he would only be working for his own doom.

Here, the word “amanat” (trust) implies khilafat (caliphate) which, according to the Quran, man has been granted in the earth. The inevitable result of the freedom given to man to choose between obedience and disobedience, and the powers and authority granted him over countless creations for using that freedom, is that he himself be held responsible for his voluntary acts and should deserve rewards for his righteous conduct and suffer punishment for his evil conduct. Since man has not attained these powers by his own efforts but has been granted these by Allah, and he is answerable before Allah for their right or wrong use, these have been described by the word khilafat at other places in the Quran, and by amanat here.

In order to give an idea of how important and heavy this “trust” (amanat) is, Allah says that the heavens and the earth, in spite of their glory and greatness, and the mountains, in spite of their size and firmness, could not have the power and courage to bear it. But man, the weak and frail man, has borne this heavy burden on his tiny self.

The presentation of the trust before the earth and the heavens and their refusal to bear it and their being afraid of it may be true literally, or it may have been said so metaphorically. We can neither know nor can comprehend Allah’s relationship with His creations. The earth and the sun and the moon and the mountains are dumb, deaf and lifeless for us but they may not be so for Allah. Allah can speak to each of His creations and it can respond to Him, though its nature is incomprehensible for us. Therefore, it is just possible that Allah, in fact, might have presented this heavy trust before them, and they might have shuddered to see it, and they might have made this submission before their Master and Creator.

“Lord, we find our good and our convenience only in remaining as Your powerless servants: we do not find courage to ask for the freedom to disobey and do justice to it, and then suffer Your punishment in case we cannot do justice to it.” Likewise, it is also quite possible that before this present life Allah might have given another kind of existence to mankind and summoned it before Himself, and it might have willingly undertaken to accept the delegated powers and authority. We have no rational argument to regard this as impossible. Only such a person, who might have made a wrong estimate of his mental and intellectual powers and capabilities, can think of regarding it as impossible.

However, this is also equally possible that Allah may have said so allegorically. In order to give an idea of the extraordinary importance of the matter, He may have depicted the scene as if the earth and the heavens and the mountains like the Himalayas were present before Him on one side and a 5 to 6 foot man, on the other. Then Allah might have asked:

“I want to invest someone of My creation with the power that being a subject of My Kingdom, it may acknowledge My Supremacy and obey My commands of its own free will; otherwise it will also have the power to deny Me, even rebel against Me. After giving him this freedom I shall so conceal Myself from him as if I did not exist at all. And to exercise this freedom I shall invest him with vast powers, great capabilities, and shall give him dominion over countless of My creations so that he may raise any storm that he may in the universe. Then I shall call him to account at an appointed time. The one who will have misused the freedom granted by Me, will be made to suffer a most terrible punishment; and the one who will have adopted My obedience in spite of all chances and opportunities for disobedience, will be raised to such high ranks as no creation of Mine has ever been able to attain. Now tell, which of you is ready to undergo this test?”

Hearing this discourse a hush might have prevailed for a while all through the universe. Then one huge creation after the other might have bowed down and submitted that it should be excused from the severe test. Then, at last, this frail creation might have risen and submitted: “O my Lord, I am ready to undergo this test. I shall brave all the dangers inherent in the freedom and independence only in the hope that I shall be blessed with the highest office in Your Kingdom if I pass the test.”

By imagining this scene through his heart’s eye only can man judge exactly what delicate position he holds in the universe. Allah in this verse has called the person unjust and ignorant, who lives a carefree life in the place of test, and has no feeling at all of how great a responsibility he is shouldering, and what consequences he will encounter of the right or wrong decisions that he makes in choosing and adopting an attitude for himself in the life of the world. He is ignorant because the fool holds himself as responsible to no one; he is unjust because he is himself preparing for his doom and is also preparing the doom of many others along with him. 10

Footnotes:
In the end, Allah wants man to realize his real position in the world; if in that position he regarded the life of the world as mere fun and sport and adopted a wrong attitude carelessly, he would only be working for his own doom. (This echoes the main tafseer above.) 10

Quran 33:73 (Surah Al-Ahzab)

English Translation:
(The consequence of man’s carrying the trust is) that Allah may chastise hypocritical men and hypocritical women and accept the repentance of believing men and believing women. He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Tafseer (Commentary by Syed Abul Ala Maududi):
The verse 33:73 is directly tied to the consequence of man’s carrying the trust in 33:72, as stated in the translation. No separate commentary is provided for this verse beyond this linkage in the translation and the overall context of the surah, which emphasizes divine justice and mercy in response to human responsibility. 10

Footnotes:
None specific to this verse; it is explained in the context of the trust (amanat) from verse 72, leading to punishment for hypocrites and polytheists and forgiveness for believers. 10

Tafseer ibn katheer

Quran 33:72 (Surah Al-Ahzab)

Arabic Text:
إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الاٌّمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الإِنْسَـنُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُوماً جَهُولاً

English Translation:
Truly, We did offer the Amanah to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it. But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust and ignorant.

Tafseer (Commentary by Ibn Kathir):
These verses explain the concept of Al-Amanah (the trust or responsibility) that Allah offered to the heavens, earth, and mountains, but they refused to carry it due to fear of its consequences. Instead, it was borne by humankind (Al-Insan), described as unjust (Zaloom) and ignorant (Jahool), meaning he underestimated the weight of this responsibility, which involves obedience to Allah, fulfilling obligatory duties (Al-Fara’id), and accepting commands and prohibitions with their rewards and punishments.

Interpretations of Al-Amanah include:

• Obedience to Allah (reported from Ibn Abbas).
• Obligatory duties such as prayer, fasting, and ritual purification (Zayd bin Aslam).
• Religion, duties, and prescribed punishments (Qatadah).
• Responsibility for chastity in women (Ubayy bin Ka’b).
• A combination of these, encompassing trust, truthfulness, good character, and moderation (Hadith from Abdullah bin ‘Amr). 10

Quran 33:73 (Surah Al-Ahzab)

Arabic Text:
لِّيُعَذِّبَ اللَّهُ الْمُنَـفِقِينَ وَالْمُنَـفِقَـتِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْمُشْرِكَـتِ وَيَتُوبَ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَـتِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً

English Translation:
So that Allah will punish the hypocrites, men and women, and the men and women who are idolators. And Allah will pardon the believers, men and women. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Tafseer (Commentary by Ibn Kathir):
Humankind accepted this Amanah despite its demands, leading to consequences: Allah will punish the hypocrites (Munafiqeen/Munafiqat), who feign faith outwardly while hiding disbelief, and the idolators (Mushrikeen/Mushrikat), who associate others with Allah in worship. Conversely, Allah will pardon and show mercy to the believers (Mumineen/Muminat), who truly believe in Allah and His Messengers and obey Him. Allah is described as Ghafur (Oft-Forgiving) and Rahim (Most Merciful). 10